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Cochrane Pregnancy Centre enters 25th year

This year marks a major milestone for the Cochrane Pregnancy Centre as they enter their 25th year of providing those with an unplanned pregnancy a safe place where they can learn what options are available to them. To highlight the assistance they have been able to provide, the centre will be inviting some of the women they have helped over their long history to speak at the upcoming gala at Cochrane Alliance Church on Mar. 15

"We started with women meeting women in coffee shops doing pregnancy tests in restrooms. Now we have a budget of $140,000, are open three days a week in a 15,000ft2 office with plans to get a place of our own," said executive director Laurel Pedersen, noting that their annual galas play a huge role in making sure they can keep up with the growing need for their services, with 244 client visits last year.

"We help women, and sometimes couples, with an unplanned pregnancy with their decision making," Pedersen explained, which generally starts with talking about how to plan to keep the baby, put it up for adoption or pursue an abortion based on their desires and situation without being judgmental.

"We like to give the client as much choice as possible because some of us have experienced how traumatic it can be to have no choice," said Pedersen, recognizing how incredibly tough an unplanned pregnancy can be on a woman, especially if the decision falls squarely on her shoulders or if there is no one to provide any kind of support. "We really want to meet people wherever they're at. We don't make them follow our agenda.

While there is an impression that unplanned pregnancies are something that occurs with teens, they only make up about 27 per cent of the centre's clients while those between the ages of 20 and 29 are the most with 40 per cent and the remaining third fall in the 30 or older category. This is because an unplanned pregnancy is not always the result of promiscuity or unsafe sex and can occur to a couple that may have been planning not to try for a few more years when an accident happens.

And while finances do play a large role in determining what to do about the pregnancy there is often much more at play as the Cochrane Pregnancy Centre has seen women running the gamut of financial means.

"It's not just financial, there's educational and emotional support," Pedersen emphasized, as they have helped teenagers who are terrified of what is going on and couples newly arrived in Cochrane with no family or friends to fall back on and no means of supporting a child. There have also been times when a woman decides to keep the baby which means she will have to raise it alone due to extenuating circumstances.

Regardless of the situations or final decision, the Cochrane Pregnancy Centre is dedicated to providing as much support as possible so whatever decision is made is one reached through education and a clear mind rather than out of fear and desperation.

"When we're in crisis and someone shows up for us, it's an impactful moment in our lives," said Pedersen. "When someone isn't there, then we become hopeless and desperate and feel like we don't have options. We don't want people making important life choices from a place of desperation."

Based on the decision made, the centre will then provide financial and material support to those who choose to keep the baby, classes on prenatal and infant care, adoption assistance and grief counselling all free of charge. This all combines to make it easier for a woman to continue moving forward with her life in a healthy way, which is what will be shared at the Mar. 15 gala.

"The heart of the gala is hearing clients' stories," said Pedersen, who has seen women come in once while others have stopped by their 1st Ave. W. location in Sheridan Mall throughout their pregnancy, something that is only possible because the people of Cochrane make it so.

"This centre, over 25 years, has been built on the shoulders of so many people," said Pedersen, thanking the founding members who started out in coffee shops, the staff and volunteers that expanded the services they could offer and the donors and partners whose generosity has made it all possible.

If you would like to come out to the evening gala, which includes dinners and auctions along with the clients who have benefitted from the Cochrane Pregnancy Centre over the years, you can get tickets for the $45 early bird price until the end of February and tables for eight for $350 at cochranepreg@brownpapertickets.com.

For more information about the gala or the Cochrane Pregnancy Centre's programs and services, you can call 403-932-2900 or email info@cochranepreg.com.